Arion
by airbendergal
Summary: Emperor Larsa learns a heart-warming lesson about family from his little, five -year-old son named Arion Solidor. This story will surely bring you to tears! Includes Larsa, Katrina, Arion and Gabranth. Rated K. Short.


Arion Solidor, the first son of Emperor Larsa Ferrinas Solidor was turning five years old. The years had passed so fast. The young lad had straight black hair, twinkling blue eyes and a spring to his step. Arion was a very curious fellow who would ask questions about how everything worked. During the morning, Prince Arion spent his time studying with Judge Gabranth, except for weekends when he spent time in the gardens. In the afternoon, he would watch his father work in the study.

Arion was born on Ivalice's never changing Father's Day, and every one of his birthdays was a special gift for the emperor, as he recalled it. Emperor Larsa was still a very young man of twenty eight years and had not changed much in features. He still had his windswept brown hair and mysterious blue eyes. He'd laugh to see Arion trying to figure out his own jokes.

"Why did the chocobo cross the road, father?" Arion asked in a happy little tune. The emperor shrugged, though he knew the question very well. The little prince revised the joke and said, "Because the emperor told it to!"

Emperor Larsa forced a smile on his face. "That is nice, dear son. The hour is late and you have to retire…"

"But father!" Arion replied. "I do not want to go to bed! You have no reason to sentence me to sleep!" And with that the little prince folded his arms.

"Listen, Arion," Larsa said, fingering through his son's hair. "I have important errands that need to be attended to. You will understand this in due time…"

The prince sighed, but bowed his head reverently. "Yes father…"

Sometimes, Arion Solidor would ask one-a-many things to his mother, the Empress Katrina. "Mother, why does father have to work so late?" Arion asked.

"Well, he's the emperor of Archadia," Katrina explained kissing hi on the cheek. Arion smudged the kiss off and blushed. "The emperor is very important," continued his mother. "He has to make sure that each of the two million people in the city is alright!"

"Is that what an emperor does, mummy?" Arion asked, wiping his wet nose.

"Indeed," Katrina said kissing his rosy cheeks. Arion was a plump little fellow, and the empress thought that he was very huggable.

"I've got an idea, mother!" Arion said, leaping to his feet. "I'm going to make father the bestest card for my birthday! I'll show him that he is the greatest father ever!"

The empress picked him up and placed him on his bed.

"Good night, Arion," the empress said, with a hint of irritation.

"No, but I'm not done yet! I going to make him the bestest card that he'll—"

"GOODNIGHT. Arion." Empress Katrina repeated. "Now don't forget to say your prayers to Faram before you go to sleep."

"I'll be praying for you, mother. And father too."

The empress smiled before blowing out the fire magicite that lighted their room.

After study seesions with Judge Gabranth, the little prince continued making his fantastic card. His garments became messy due to all the paint he used, not to mention spilled. The card he made had borders of red hearts. Larsa was in the middle, in stick person form. Arion had mastered the art of stick drawing. On the right of the page, Arion wrote BEZ FATHER IN THE WURLD. Then after some time of pondering, decided to draw himself beside Larsa. "There!" he said laughing. "I finally did it! Father will be so pleased with me!"

On Arion's fifth birthday, the Emperor had decided to take half the day off. In the morning, the family went to a restaurant for a birthday celebration. "Happy birthday son," said the emperor, kissing his son. "I cannot stay for very long because the senate has ordered an emergency meeting. Are you fine with that?"

Arion shrugged, a bit unsure.

"Larsa, please," Katrina begged. "Not on Arion's birthday! He's turning five years old, and you should be proud of that! Tell the senate they can wait!"

"I am very very sorry, but I cannot miss it," Larsa said, shaking his head. "But do not fret. I am going to make it up to you…and Arion." And with that the emperor kissed his wife before hastily walking out. Arion sighed.

"Arion, look! It's your birthday cake!" The empress exclaimed, hoping to make the boy feel better. Judge Gabranth came in with a red box. He brought it to the table and opened it. Inside was a chocolate cake.

"Happy birthday, little Solidor," Judge Gabranth said, placing the candles on the cake. He then whispered _fire_and a small flame ignited on his fingertips. He lit the five candles one by one before extinguishing the fire on his fingers. "You may make a wish now."

Arion clapped, and everyone followed by singing happy birthday. The boy closed his eyes, drew his breath and blew really hard. Everyone inside the restaurant cheered.

"Well, what did you wish for Arion?" asked Empress Katrina.

"I wished…that father would spend more time with us."

Katrina's eyes widened.

That night, Arion stayed up late finishing his card. He drew unusual buildings in the background and a square-shaped sun. He finished coloring the borders and when he was done, entered the study where the emperor was. The man had been signing vert important documents with a quill. His eyes were affixed on the loads of paper work, and he did not mind at all that sweat was running down the side of his face.

"Father…" said the little boy silently. Still the emperor did not notice. "Father," he repeated after some time of silence.

The emperor looked up and smiled. "Ah, Arion, my dear son," he said, letting go of his quill. "What are you doing this late of night? Your curfew was an hour ago."

"I wanted to give you something, father…" Arion said, gripping his card tightly.

"Just leave it on my table son," said the emperor standing up. He crossed the room to escort the little prince to his study desk. "And after that, Arion, you should really get to sleeping. I shall look at the card after I'm done signing these files."

"But don't you want to take a look, father?" asked Arion, his eyes a bit watery.

"I will," the emperor reassured with a smile. "Now go back to sleep." His smile faded away as soon as he saw that Arion was not moving from his spot.

"But I made it for you," Arion reasoned. "I drew hearts and our city and—"

"Not now, Arion. If I make just one mistake in signing—"

"But daddy!"

"Arion Solidor, do you understand me when I say NOT NOW?" The emperor's eyes bulged up in irritation. His cheeks flushed an angry red. He pushed some of his papers aside, and a gigantic pile of documents fell off the desk. "Do I make myself clear, son?"

"Yess….F-Father…."

"Now, please. GET OUT."

Arion suddenly broke out into tears. "FINE! WHY DON'T YOU EVER PAY ANY ATTENTION TO US, FATHER?" And with that the little boy ran out of the study and left the door half open. His cry was heard from across the hall.

Larsa was silenced. He looked down in regret, his eyes watery. Still, he shook his head and continued working on his documents. It was midnight when he was done with his paperwork. He sighed and picked up the fallen sheets of paper. At the bottom of the pile, he noticed a crumpled piece of paper with scribbles on it. He looked at it clearly and then noticed that it was Arion's card. He examined it carefully and read the words BEZ FATHER IN THE WURLD. The Emperor started to cry silently. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he buried his face in his arms.

The next morning, an excellent idea struck the emperor. He would bring his family to the North Gardens. That morning, he called for a day-off. He went to the toy store early that morning and bought his son a present. The first thing that Arion saw when he woke up was his father beaming down at him.

"Good morning, dear son," the emperor said smiling. "I bought you a present…"

"A present for me?" Arion asked, wide-eyed.

"I bought you a model of the _Leviathan_! I know you like airships," and with that, the emperor took out a small toy from the back of his cape. "It looks like the _Leviathan_, the first one. I got the chance to ride it before it sank."

"Wow, father! You bought me an airship! It looks so nice! Yipee!"

"That's not all," Larsa continued. "Since I couldn't make it yesterday to your birthday celebration, I decided to take the day off. We shall go to the North Gardens. Are you happy with that?"

"The North Gardens, daddy? You can see Dalmasca from there!"

"You can't see Dalmasca from the gardens. Nevertheless, I shall bring you there," Larsa said, patting the little prince on the head. "But…only on one condition, Arion."

"What is it?" Arion asked, looking into the emperor's dark blue eyes.

"You have to promise to forgive me," Larsa replied, with a warm smile. "I am sorry, Arion. I have been ill-treating you. Please, forgive me, my little prince. I my words cannot justify how sorry I am."

"I forgive you, father," Arion said, dropping his toy airship on the bed he was on. It bounced once before landing safely on a pillow. "But now, you have to promise to give us more attention. Me…and mother!"

"Hmmm…"Larsa said. There was a silence. Then, the emperor suddenly started to laugh and leaped onto the bed with his son, tickling him on his sides. "You shall be my number one priority!"

Arion giggled.

Empress Katrina entered the room and smiled. "Well, well, well, what have we here? My two favorite boys hanging out with each other. This is new…"

Emperor Larsa looked back and smiled at Katrina.

"Guess what, mummy! Father's going to take us to the North Gardens! And he bought me a toy airship!" Arion showed his mother the model of the Leviathan.

"I took the day off," Larsa explained, smiling. "I mean, the senate said that it was acceptable. And, I did not have anything better to do."

"I'm glad you did the right thing, Larsa," Katrina said, smiling back. She then turned to Arion and laughed. "I guess your father learned a lesson from you, little Arion."

Larsa picked up the small boy and hugged him tightly.

"I love you, Arion Solidor."


End file.
